Pope: ‘Extreme vigilance’ needed in fight against Vatican corruption

By Joseph Tulloch

Pope Francis met on Monday morning with staff from the Vatican’s Office of the Auditor General.

The body, which he himself established nine years ago, serves as the anti-corruption authority of the Holy See and Vatican City State, and carries out financial audits of entities belonging to them. 

The fight against corruption

In his address to staff, Pope Francis stressed the importance of eliminating corruption in the Vatican. 

As he is recovering from bronchitis, Pope Francis did not read his prepared speech, but instead handed it over to be read afterwards. 

“Those who work at the Holy See and the Vatican City State certainly do so faithfully and honestly,” the Pope's speech read, “but the lure of corruption is so dangerous that we must be extremely vigilant.”

“I know you dedicate much time to this,” the Pope added, stressing the need to balance “absolute transparency in every action” with “merciful discretion”, since scandals “serve more to fill the pages of the newspapers than to correct behaviour in depth.”

“in addition to this,” the Pope concluded, “I invite you to help those responsible for the administration of the Holy See's assets to create safeguards that can prevent, ‘upstream’, the insidiousness of corruption from materializing.”

Independence, international principles, and professionalism 

Pope Francis continued his address by stressing three of the audit office’s core characteristics: independence, attention to international principles, and professionalism.

The Office is truly independent, the Pope said, because it “does not depend hierarchically on other entities.”

“Far from implying any arbitrariness,” however, he stressed, this independence should lead to “action that is always well thought-out and inspired by the highest principle of charity.”

The application of international best practices, meanwhile, the Pope added, is important “to promote equity and alignment with the rest of the international community,”

Finally, he said, professionalism is key. Noting that many members of the Office possess “decades of high-level experience”, and are dedicated to continuous on-the-job education, Pope Francis notes that “it is a real moral obligation for you to be up-to-date about the continuing evolution” of the field.

Service to the poor

Pope Francis concluded his address with an invitation to the staff of the Office regarding “something that goes beyond your work.”

“I know that some of you serve at the Caritas soup kitchen,” he said. “This is a beautiful thing, and I want to say to you: Do it with an open heart, simply and freely, and take time to talk to people and listen to their stories.”

And, he added, “I thank you for your work, and send my best wishes for Holy Christmas to you and your families.”